Itsandra

Itsandra is the bay just north of the capital where most of the country's few real hotels stand, which makes it the practical base for anyone who wants a beach and a road into town. The sand is pale and the water drops away quickly to reef just offshore. Above the shore the old village of Itsandra Mdjini still keeps the tombs and the ruined palace of a sultanate that once ruled this whole coast. Boats leave the hotel jetties for snorkelling and, in the southern winter, for the humpbacks. It is fifteen minutes from Moroni.